Toy tube testing device



May 16, 196] c. PEARSON, JR 2,984,043 -TOY TUBE TESTING DEVICE Filed May 19, 1959 de w d 4/ I .30

. I I x a I j as INVENTOR. 40 a (242% @amozzf:

United States Patent 7 TDY 'IIUBE. TESTING DEVICE. Charlesmearsom-Jn, 396 Huntingt'om Ilane, El'mhurst', Ill. FiledMay 19,.1959,,Ser..No..814,260, i {6311 4'fi -39) This invention relatesptq a. toy, tubev testing device. fine ofthe obi'ects. of this inventionis to proyide a. toy

indicator for, indicating whether a. simulated television,

connected in series. o a. light.- bulb positioned. inside a e simulated. picture tube.- By selecting;the.propcr tubes; and, inserting, the same, in the. sockets. the circ it is los d.

that thelight bulb is illuminated i The. toy testingfldevice.

of the present invention. is. to: use with. such atoy inv that:

this testing device willl iuslicatewhether, the: tube.v will close the circuit.

More specifically, the simulated tubes allfappear to be substantially'the same, however, the difference is in the length of the pin prongs, which difference not discernable. to the child. Tubes having the slightly longer pin prongs will operate to close the circuit in the toy television receiving set, while those having shorter pin prongs will leave the circuit open, thus, those tubes with the longer pin prongs are considered good tubes and those with the shorter pin prongs are consideredfbad tubes. This invention enables the child to select the proper tubes.-

Other objects will become apparent as this description progresses.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a top view of this invention.

Figure 2 is a view from the bottom or underside.

Figure 3 is a view partly in cross-section taken on lines 3-3 of Figure 1 with a tube inserted for testing.

Figure 4 is a view of the two types of simulated tubes to be tested and showing particularly the differences in the length of the pin prongs of the tubes, and

Figure 5 is a view showing the means for releasably securing the pointer.

The toy television tube tester comprises a housing generally indicated at 10 which may be integrally molded of plastic or like material. The housing has a substantially flat surface 12 and a raised rectangular shaped framelike upper portion 14. A flat surface 16 is provided below the frame 14 and the upper portion of said surface is marked With any suitable indicating or measuring indicia used in testing conventional television tubes. For purposes of illustration the word Good is positioned adjacent the center line 18 and the word Bad is positioned to the right thereof, as best shown in Figure 1. These two designations are intended to indicate when a tube tested is either good or bad for the purpose for which same are intended.

Rotatably supported on the flat surface 12 of the housing is a knurled knob 20 having a stem portion 22 extending through a small opening in the flat surface 12. Fixed- 1y; securedto: the: stem portion; 22; is; a p in er e a yv indicated; at 24.. The upper end. of; the pointer extendsthrough an elongated slot 26 in the bottom wall of the frame to. permit: movement of the pointer- The pointer extends to the indicating scale: previously described. The; lower portion, of the: pointer- 24: is stepped. down as indicated at. 24 to provde; adefinedgspacing or, clearance, be tweentit and theflat. surface 12:. of; thehousingr The SUI-r face:1-2- is; providedwit-h: a plurality of spaced openings 2.8; arranged in-a circle to: receivethe pin prongs of llhfltllbGSi to: be, tested.

The; openings; 28 are: to.- the; left: ofi the'pivotal axis of the; pointer 24; andimthe, path. of; the sweep.- of the lower portion 24' of; therpointer, for the purpose. to. be. de-. scribed;.. A; coil. springrfiflthaying one endattached to the p in er as. a 3.2. and; the other end to astud? 34 which issecured. to the housing; 1.0 normally biasesthe pointer 24 so. that when. released it sweepsIto; the dotted. line position shown in Figure If an 'isstopped by another stud.36.se.-- curedtm the housing;

To set the; pointerto is. manually engagedby-"the. fingers of a hand and the. pointer 24 ismtated toltheliefh. as. shown in full lines in.

Figure 1, against. the: tension-of the: spring 30;. Meansv are provided; to; releasably hold the. pointer- 24 in this posi.-. tion until; the tube: to bertested' is inserted. in; the openings 28- S id means arebestshownl in Figures: 2, 3: and. 5v a d comprise an L-shaped metal; Spring: member 38 secured. as; at 4.0 to. the. housing 10;

The: forwardly extending portionof said member 38. is; positioned. to; extendjbelow the lower end, of the pointer portiom24. and; is. provided withanindent-ationfafi. to re:

ceive-a. rib;- z'forrnedzonthe. underside; of the: lower end of: the: pointer; Whom the; pointer: 24 is rotated so. that it n ges the member: 38,; it. will: lock itself thereto by the: engagement of the; rib 42.- with the. indentation 3.8.. To releaseithe pointer aplunger generally indicated'at 44iis; provided. The plunger has a stem 46 vertically slideable in the sleeve 48 supported on the underside of the housing 10.

A cap 50 is secured to the top of the stem 46 of the plunger and a spring 52 is enclosed within the cap to normally maintain the plunger in its elevated position out of engagement with the spring member 38. By depressing the plunger the spring member 38 is depressed, releasing the pointer 24 to swing to the right, provided it clears the pin prongs of the simulated tube to be tested. In Figure 4 there is shown two types of simulated tubes to be tested. The only difference between the two is in the length of the pin prongs. All tubes have six spaced pin prongs extending from the bottom to be received in the spaced openings 28. The pin prongs 54 in tube G (for Good) are longer than the pin prongs 56 in tube B (for Bad). When tube G is inserted in-the openings 28 and the pointer 24 is released by depressing the plunger 44, the movement of the pointer will be arrested when it makes a half sweep, due to engagement of the lower end 24 of the pointer with some of the pin prongs 54 of the tube G. This positions the top of the pointer adjacent line 18 to indicate Good on the scale, meaning that this tube when used is in operating condition. When the tube B is inserted in the openings 28 and the pointer is operation, the. knurled knob. 20:.

simulated tubes for use in a companion simulated television receiving set.

It will be understood that various changes and modifications may be made from the foregoing without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A toy testing device for testing simulated television tubes and the like, certain of said simulated tubes having long pin prongs and other of said simulated tubes having short pin prongs, said device comprising a housing, a tube socket in said housing, said socket having a plurality of openings to receive the pin prongs of the simulated tube; an indicator lever rotatably secured to the housing, said lever passing under said openings when rotated, at least one of the pin prongs of said long pin prong tube extending in the path of movement of said indicator lever to stop same at a certain predetermined point.

2. A toy testing device for testing simulated television tubes and the like, certain of said simulated tubes having long pin prongs and other of said simulated tubes having short pin prongs, said device comprising a base, a tube socket in said base, said socket having a plurality of openings to receive the pin prongs of the simulated tube, an indicator lever rotatably secured to the base to rotate with respect to said base, said lever having a portion thereof extending below the base and in line with the openings in said socket to pass under said openings when rotated, said long pin prongs extending through said openings and in the path of movement of said indicator lever to thereby stop same at a certain predetermined point.

3. A toy testing device for testing simulated television tubes and the like, certain of said simulated tubes having long pin prongs and other of said simulated tubes having short pin prongs, said device comprising a base, a tube socket in said base, said socket having a plurality of openings to receive the pin prongs of the simulated tube, an indicator pointer pivotally secured to said base to rotate with respect to said base, said pointer having a portion extending below said socket receiving openings to pass under said openings during movement of said pointer to be engaged by the pin prongs on said long pin prong tube to thereby limit the movement of said indicator pointer at a certain predetermined point.

4. A toy testing device for testing simulated television tubes and the like, certain of said simulated tubes having long pin prongs and other of said simulated tubes having short pin prongs, said device comprising a base, a tube socket in said base, said socket having a plurality of openings to receive the pin prongs of a simulated tube, an indicator pointer pivotally secured to said base to rotate with respect to said base, said pointer having a portion thereof extending below said openings to pass under said openings during movement of said pointer to be engaged by said long pin prongs to limit the movement of said indicator pointer at a certain predetermined point, means for normally urging said indicator pointer in one direction, releasable means for holding said indicator pointer in an opposite direction, said indicator pointer when released adapted to move in the direction of said first mentioned direction unless stopped by the long pin prongs of the tube.

' 5. A toy testing device for testing simulated television tubes and the like, certain of said simulated tubes having long pin prongs and other of said simulated tubes having short pin prongs, said device comprising a base, a tube socket in said base, said socket'having a plurality of openings to receive the pin prongs of the simulated tube, a pointer pivotally secured to said base to rotate with respect to said base, said'pointer having a portion passing under said socket openings during movement of said pointer to be engaged by said long pin prongs of said tube to arrest travel of said pointer, means for manually setting said pointer in starting position before insertion of a tube in said socket, and means'forreleasing said pointer to permit said pointer to move in the opposite direction.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,897,434 Anthea July 28, 1959 

